Eternally Grateful
by Moirailis
Summary: "Ne, Syo-chan?" "What is it, Nacchan?" "Have you ever thought about having kids?"


"Ne, Syo-chan?" Natsuki's voice brought Syo's attention away from the computer screen. Natsuki was crossed-legged on the couch, his giant Piyo-chan plush in his arms with his chin on top of the stuffed animal, green eyes locked onto Syo. There was a curious look on the other's face, and part of Syo worried about what Natsuki could possibly be thinking about.

"What is it, Nacchan?" Syo went to push his bangs back before his hand simply hit his forehead instead - he had forgotten that he had decided to hold his bangs back as he worked today with a headband. It made seeing the screen easier, and Natsuki thought the bright pink headband was cute. Even years after STARISH disbanded, Syo wore his signature color in some form almost daily.

"Have you ever thought about having kids?" Natsuki blinked almost owlishly at the younger male, genuinely curious. Syo blinked in surprise - while he should have expected it, he was caught off guard by the question. Natsuki loved cute things, Syo knew this, and upon recently, Natsuki had been fawning over Tokiya's son Yuuma and suddenly those glances that Natsuki would give to Syo made sense.

Syo sighed, "Is this because of Yuuma?" he questioned. Natsuki sent Syo a sheepish little smile and the younger shook his head. "Nacchan, do you know what Otoya and Tokiya did to even get Yuuma? There was a lot of planning involved and a lot of stress put on Nanami. Even if we did have a kid, I wouldn't put her through that kind of stress again."

"But, Syo-chan..." Natsuki began and oh no, there was that pout that Syo could almost never deny. "I want to have a family with Syo-chan! I want Syo-chan to be a papa and for me to be a mama!" Syo's brows furrowed a bit when Natsuki put his face into the back of the Piyo-chan plush toy. "Doesn't Syo-chan want that, too?"

Great, now Syo felt bad. "It's not that I don't want a family with you, Nacchan, because I'd like one, really! But I don't want to put Nanami through that again, and it wouldn't feel right if it was anyone but her carrying our kid since she's been with us through so much, y'know?"

"But we don't have to have our baby the same way that Otoya-kun and Tokiya-kun had Yuuma-chan!" Natsuki countered, head rising away from Piyo-chan with this small little blush on his cheeks. "We can adopt!" Oh. Well, Syo hadn't even considered the idea of adoption at all. Still, there was that lingering worry in the front of the smaller male's mind of being a father.

"I... I'll think about it, okay?" Syo almost flinched at the way Natsuki's face lit up, because when Syo said 'maybe' Natsuki always heard 'yes'. That's how it usually always ended, too, with Syo saying yes to whatever Natsuki was asking. "Don't take that as a yes just yet, Nacchan! I'm still not sure about this."

Syo could have sworn he saw Natsuki wiggling where he sat. "Ne, ne, Syo-chan! What if we babysat Yuuma-chan for a week, to see how we'd be as parents? Otoya-kun and Tokiya-kun could use a bit of a break, right? They haven't had a break since Yuuma-chan was born! Don't you think that would be nice, Syo-chan?" There was a light in Natsuki's eyes and Syo just couldn't find it in him to turn down Natsuki's idea.

"Fine, we'll ask Otoya and Tokiya if they want a break and if we can take care of Yuuma for a week, but you know how Otoya is attached to that Mini-Tokiya. He might be reluctant to let us look after his kid." Syo pointed out, but the words didn't seem to reach Natsuki's ears, as the older blond was already on the phone, happily talking to, who Syo assumed was, Tokiya. The younger sighed, shaking his head again. Just what did he get himself into?

It surprised Syo when Tokiya arrived at his apartment the next day, Otoya whining and clinging to his waist and Yuuma perched on his hip quietly. So, it seemed like at least half of the pair had agreed to the mini-vacation. Otoya was extremely reluctant to allow Natsuki and Syo to care for Yuuma for a week, but within moments, Natsuki had all of Yuuma's things in and on his arms while Syo had Yuuma. Why Tokiya had passed off his son to Syo while Natsuki willingly took all of the child's things. He had expected Natsuki to instantly reach for Yuuma, really.

"We'll be back on Friday for him. I made sure that he would have everything he needs for the week, and his usual schedule. There are instructions on how to heat his formula and when to give it to him, as well as what he eats through the day. He can sleep in the playpen we brought over when he was only a few months old as long as you put him in your room since Otoya refused to bring the baby monitors for him." Syo could barely keep up with what Tokiya was saying to him, but Natsuki nodded along enthusiastically, catching every word Tokiya said.

"Don't worry about a thing, Tokiya-kun~!" Natsuki was enthusiastic and suddenly Syo wondered if this was such a good idea after all. "Yuuma-chan is in good hands with me and Syo-chan, isn't that right, Yuuma-chan?" Though, Syo almost snickered when Yuuma gave Natsuki a blank look he had clearly gotten from Tokiya. He noticed how Tokiya shook his head with a small, clearly fond smile for his son.

"I trust you two to keep our son safe and happy. Call us if there are any problems." Tokiya nudged Otoya with his foot, watching as the pouting redhead stalked back to the car, despite the fact that all of STARISH could walk to each other's apartments. "Please don't let there be any problems. I'm counting on you two; Otoya and I haven't had a moment alone since Yuuma's birth. I really do appreciate what you're doing for us."

With Tokiya's last words, Syo felt the pressure of increased responsibility dawn on him, and there was that moment of panic of letting his friends down. Natsuki, being the ridiculous human he was, had already put Yuuma's things away, simply patted Syo's shoulder. How long had Syo just been standing there, staring at the door anyways? "Don't worry, Syo-chan! This will be fun!"

The first day wasn't so hard. Natsuki had taped the schedule Tokiya had given them to the fridge, and it turns out, Yuuma was more on top of his schedule than Syo or Natsuki was. It was like clockwork, the way Yuuma worked, and Syo was actually a bit thankful for the fact that Yuuma wasn't terribly fussy. He could do without the six am wake up calls, but other than that, babysitting Yuuma wasn't terrible. He woke up at six, breakfast was at six thirty, the first nap was from 10-11:30, and lunch was at noon. The next nap was from 2-3:30, and dinner was at 5. Bathtime was at six, and bedtime was at seven.

Syo took advantage of the first naptime to catch up on his lost sleep, and the second one was spent relaxing with Natsuki, usually watching a movie or the TV in general, though on occasion, Syo would begin to doze off. He couldn't help it - Yuuma was exhausting during playtime.

Days two and three with Yuuma passed without much trouble, Natsuki and Syo adjusting to Yuuma's (rather easy) schedule with ease. They hadn't needed to call Tokiya and Otoya at all, though after lunch on day three, that seemed to be when Yuuma realized his parents weren't around.

Syo would never admit he panicked a bit when Yuuma began to wail. Natsuki had been in the middle of taking a shower, and as much as he enjoyed a wet Natsuki, it wasn't the time to interrupt his lover's shower. Instincts kicked in and, as much as his mind was telling him to just call Tokiya, he didn't. Syo may have packed away the old STARISH videos for space, but he knew exactly where they were. With Yuuma perched on his hip still wailing, Syo pulled the STARISH debut video out of storage, popping it into the DVD player almost frantically.

Of course, as soon as the video started, Yuuma quieted down instantly, and a small smile appeared on his face upon seeing Tokiya and Otoya. Syo breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he sat down with Yuuma on the floor, back against the couch and the child in his lap. Yuuma was focused on the television and the figures of his fathers and friends performing, giving Syo a moment to collect himself and calm down.

Natsuki found them just like that, both of them watching the STARISH videos Syo had pulled out of storage for Yuuma. Natsuki could see Syo mouthing along with the lyrics to each song that played, despite that their debut concert had been years ago. Yuuma was quiet but there were remnants of tear tracks on his cheeks and Natsuki only smiled, knowing Syo had gone into what Natsuki would later call "papa-mode".

Day four went by without any troubles once more, and day five sparked a visit from Ren and Masato. They didn't stay long, just for a few hours watching Natsuki play with Yuuma and Syo prepare lunch for him. Once Yuuma went down for his nap, the two left, leaving Syo confused and Natsuki happily oblivious. (Syo would learn a few days later that Ren and Masato were spies for Tokiya and Otoya. Ren had told Tokiya that everything went wrong and Yuuma was covered in bandages. Masato had slapped him for that one and told them that everything was fine, Yuuma was happy and nothing was destroyed.)

By day six, Natsuki had noticed a parental instinct spark within Syo that didn't seem like it would be disappearing any time soon. It was also on day six that Natsuki noticed that Yuuma had taken a liking to one of his favorite Piyo-chan plushies. Seeing Yuuma napping with Piyo-chan caused Natsuki to pout a bit, and when he reached to take Piyo-chan back, Syo simply gave him a look that clearly said 'leave the plush toy alone'.

On day seven, Tokiya and Otoya arrived at Natsuki and Syo's apartment at exactly 2:30, Otoya looking well rested and then some. Tokiya wasn't quite as well rested looking, and Syo wasn't quite eager to find out why. As soon as Tokiya had shut the door to the apartment, Yuuma was toddling over to the two, having squirmed out of Natsuki's arms. Otoya was the one to scoop Yuuma up, smiling happily at having his son in his arms again.

"Well, looks like things went well here." Tokiya mused, watching as Syo finished packing up Yuuma's things that Tokiya had brought over the week before. "He wasn't too much trouble, was he?" the question was directed at Syo, and the shorter male pursed his lips in thought.

"Nah, not really. Only problem we had was when he realized you guys weren't here. Put on an old STARISH tape and he was fine." Syo replied easily, zipping up the bag and passing it off to Otoya, who had passed Yuuma to Tokiya when the boy reached for him. "Other than that, there were no problems at all. Stuck to his schedule and everythin' was fine."

"I see, well, I'm glad everything went smoothly." Tokiya mused, looking at the little boy perched on his hip before heading to the door. "We'll be taking our leave now. We really do appreciate what you did for us this week." Over Tokiya's shoulder, Yuuma opened and closed his little fist in a goodbye gesture, causing Syo to unconsciously wave back at the boy as Tokiya and Otoya left.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it, Syo-chan?" Natsuki chimed happily moments after the door shut. Syo sighed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. Well... fun was an optional word, but truthfully? Syo really did enjoy watching Yuuma for the week, and it made him think more about becoming a father with Natsuki.

"Define "fun", Nacchan," Syo muttered before shaking his head, giving Natsuki a small, fond smile. "I did enjoy watching 'im, though. Maybe havin' one of our own won't be so bad..." Upon hearing the words, Natsuki accidentally (though, throwing himself at the younger male was no accident) knocked Syo over, rubbing his cheek against a now hat-less blond head. "O-oi, Nacchan!"

The next day was spent filling out paperwork. The next few weeks were spent waiting for their paperwork to be approved. Within a month, they were set for a homestudy, and a month later, the pair had applied to adopt a little girl with blond curls in the same shade as Syo's hair and eyes a similar shade of blue to Syo's, perhaps two or three shades darker.

A month later, they had been approved to be Sayuri's new parents, and two months later, Syo and Natsuki brought the three year old home. The new family had instantly bonded, and Syo endlessly spoiled the little girl. Just before Sayuri's fourth birthday, Syo and Natsuki had been approved for a little boy (Sayuri insisting she wanted a little brother, and who were Syo and Natsuki to deny their daughter a sibling if they could help it?), bringing home the blueish-green-eyed, blond two year old a month after the little girl's fourth birthday.

Syo sometimes wondered why the adoption process went so smoothly. Part of him wondered if it was because Natsuki and him were just good candidates as parents, or if their former idol status had any influence. He liked to hope it was simply because he and Natsuki were good candidates (he knew they were, why should he be concerned at all?), though he knew part of it was their former status.

Natsuki told him not to worry so much, that he'll get wrinkles early if he frowns so much. They were finally parents, Sayuri and Hiroto were theirs and their blond babies were happy in their home. Yuuma and Hiroto, being similar in age, bonded quickly and Sayuri enjoyed taking care of her brother and "cousin" when the adults were chatting.

When Ren took in Masuyo, Sayuri instantly found a new playmate, leaving the boys to play without Sayuri hovering like the overprotective sister Syo knew she would grow up to be. Sayuri was a daddy's girl, always going to Syo for everything, while Hiroto would cling to Natsuki, the self-proclaimed "mama". Syo and Natsuki spoiled their children, though they always did it tastefully so their children still had proper manners.

Hiroto became interested in martial arts as he grew up. Syo had tried to get Sayuri interested, but the girl had no interest, preferring to cook, though Syo didn't dare let Natsuki teach her how to cook. No, he taught her himself, and in the event he couldn't, he would leave that task to either Ren or Tokiya, the two members of STARISH who were surprisingly good cooks.

Thinking about it one day after Sayuri and Hiroto were put to bed, Syo was rather glad Natsuki had convinced him to babysit Yuuma that week. If that hadn't happened, he wasn't sure he and Natsuki would have Sayuri and Hiroto. He couldn't imagine life without his children these days - he and Natsuki finally had the family they wanted, and it wasn't simply a farfetched dream anymore. It was reality, and Syo was eternally grateful.


End file.
